We Built Their Death Squads: ISIS’s Bizarre Origin Story

ISIS — the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria — is one of the least funny organizations on the planet. From child trafficking to attempted genocide, everything they touch turns into a big steaming pile of tragedy. Things seem to be going pretty well for them, too. The West’s new boogeymen captured the city of Ramadi, Iraq, last month, and they appear to be drawing in new recruits slightly faster than American airstrikes can kill them.

But, the truly scary thing is that they seem to have just popped into existence overnight. How many of you had never even heard the term “ISIS” before last year? How is such a spontaneous mass of organized terror even possible? We were wondering that, too, so we sat down with a few people who were on the ground in Iraq during ISIS’s real-life supervillain origin story. We learned that, if we’re not the father of ISIS, the United States is at least some sort of uncle.

While reading this, the only spoiler-free thought I had was “so, have the ends successfully justified the means? Apparently not.” At least the pseudonyms bring a touch of levity.